Standards Of Care For Acute And Critical Care Nursing
Nurses who deal with and take care of patients suffering from life-threatening problems come under the field of acute and critical care nursing. These nurses work in the emergency, critical care and intensive care units. The American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN) is the national advisory body of nurses in the United States. All nurses need to be registered under AACN. The various standards that are to be maintained in critical and acute care are set and maintained by this body. Nurses who want to join acute and critical care units need to have an approval certificate from AACN.
The tests that are needed to be passed before getting the certificates are quite tough. A thorough knowledge of pathophysiology and critical care is required for that. Nurses interested in critical care have to be conversant with the different critical care technologies. The standards for acute and critical care nursing describe a level of care that is common to the nursing profession by which the quality of nursing can be judged. Certain written down roles and responsibilities are expected to be followed by the nurses in acute and critical care. Apart from competent nursing, they have to highly professional in their behavior with the patient, his or her family and the doctors.
An individual has to have a nursing diploma for becoming a registered nurse. An associate's degree or a bachelor's degree in nursing can also suffice. But passing the national licensing exam after that is a must. Acute and critical care nurses have to create an environment around the patient that is caring, healing and humane. They need to respect and support the beliefs and values of the patient. They are the liaison between the doctor and the patient's family. Such nurses have to be managers, researchers, bedside clinicians, practitioners and educators.
The latest technologies that are used in critical care include equipments like hemodynamic and cardiac monitoring systems, mechanical ventilator therapy, intra-aortic balloon pumps (IABP), continuous renal replacement equipment (CRRT/CVVHDF), extracorporeal mechanical oxygenation circuits (ECMO), ventricular assist devices (LVAD and RVAD) and other life support devices. The critical care nurses have to work with a variety of patients in different areas like CCU, ICU, cardiac units, high dependency units, post operative care and medical evacuation teams.
Pediatric Intensive Care (PICU), Neonatal Intensive Care (Nursery ICU) and Adult Intensive Care also come under acute and critical care nursing. The Neonatal ICU deals with newborn and premature infants. The Pediatric Intensive Care looks after children up to eighteen years. More and more acute and critical care nurses are now working in clinics, outpatient surgery centers and home healthcare as well.
The AACN also looks after the different education programs in nursing and represents more than 580 member schools. AACN's publications, research and governmental advocacy establish the right standards for nursing education. The directors of various health care providers are influenced by the body to implement the standards and support nursing education and practice. AACN recently came up with contents on ethical practice and professional care. The body has made it mandatory for registered nurses to understand managed care in its totality and interpret various health related research for the patient.
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